James Niggemeyer – Blessings in Disappointment Learning at Pickwick, On to Toledo Bend

I’m kind of licking my wounds a little bit after Pickwick. The truth is, I’m still trying to figure out exactly what happened.

I fished my strengths here at Pickwick; I had my St. Croix Pitchin’ Stick and Ardent F500 in my hands most of the day, and I couldn’t get the big ones to bite. From a fishing perspective, I fished a really clean tournament; I caught a lot of fish and never lost anything that would have helped me. I just wasn’t able to string together enough big bites to have the 15 to 16 pound sacks I needed.

I fished a Strike King Rodent and a Hack Attack Jig around cover, then threw a Strike King Spinnerbait and Pure Poison while I was moving in between the targets I was flipping. I mean, I was doing the same things as the guys in my area that were doing really well. I fished around Denny Brauer, Bobby Lane, Kelly Jordon, and a few other guys who were at the upper end of the leaderboard, but the bigger bites never materialized.

Thursday was a little better than Wednesday. I caught a four pounder and a couple of really solid three pounders, but still had a couple of smaller two pounders in my bag that I couldn’t cull out. If I had been able to catch one more three pounder, I would have made the cut. That’s a frustrating thing, to know you’re in the right areas and not be able to get the right results. Oh well, that’s the way it goes sometimes, you just try to learn what you can from the situation and move on.

I’m working the Yamaha booth during Friday’s weigh-in, and I get to tell people what an amazing machine I have on the back of my Bass Cat. It really impresses me more each day I’m on the water, and I look forward to sharing the stories with people.

Daniel has had an absolute ball here playing with Laker and Oakley Howell. They’ve been running around fishing in a creek, playing at the campground riding bikes, and just having a good time of it overall. Sandy and Abigail are doing really well, and really enjoying themselves too.

McFarland Park has been amazing for a campground. The campsite is only about a quarter mile from the weigh-in, so they can walk there. With everything so close, it was a perfect setup for our week here. It truly is an amazing blessing to have Sandy and the kids out here on the road with me; I really love it.

Well, Pickwick’s over and we’ll pack it up and head to Toledo Bend in the morning. While I’m ready to leave the lake, I think leaving Pickwick is going to be a little bittersweet for the family. The good thing is that I got some points from Pickwick and now we’re headed to Toledo Bend where I won a B.A.S.S. Central Open in 2009.

To learn more about James or for information on booking him for a trip, visit his website at: www.jamesniggemeyer.com